Crimsonland Reviews
Crimsonland delivers an adequate shoot-em-up performance for the PS4, with plenty of modes to choose from and a fun blastathon for you and your friends. However, it lacks in presentation and diversity, two areas that needed more depth in order for the game to stand out on the console. It's decent, but forgettable.
Simple and proud, 10tons' retro shooter offers large-scale murderisation for you and some friends - just don't expect much of a looker when the bloodlust wears off.
Crimsonland is exactly one video game: a perfectly competent twin-stick shooter, and nothing else. Unfortunately, the title's quests feel a bit half-baked, and the whole thing could do with a facelift. However, with an addictive survival mode, a proliferation of interesting perks, and a host of guns to collect, those in the market for some mindless action are likely to find a lot to like here.
Crimsonland is what people who don't play video games think video games are. It's full of combat that is bloody, violent, and lacking any motive or reason. You can't really call it mindless, though, because it does take a lot of strategy to get through the more difficult levels. Before games tried taking on Hollywood like they do now, there were many more titles like Crimsonland, games that exist simply as games, and there's nothing wrong with that if that's what appeals to you. The mechanics and gameplay hold up over time, it's very challenging, and the couch co-op and survival modes give it longevity. Just understand that Crimsonland often feels more at home on the first Xbox rather than the Xbox One.
Progressing the twin stick shooter genre is no easy task, and Crimsonland makes a mechanically valiant if visually lethargic attempt. There are the foundations of a great game here - the moment to moment gameplay is a basic yet guilty pleasure of relentless, gratuitous violence, and the perk system and weapons within a level are consistently and immensely rewarding to use. While the action is ludicrous, fun, dumb and obnoxiously brash, the game is let down by its bland presentation, repetitive and uninspired quest mode and non-existent level design. It hides what is, at its core, an addictive and sadistically entertaining experience. It will make you realise how awesome it would be to have something like Dead Nation or even DOOM on the system. Oh, wait...
Crimsonland is plentiful in action, weapons and all sorts of bonuses and additional elements that will keep its players amused, especially if there are four of them. What it does less well is its level design, which feels repetitive and it lacks something innovative that would let it stand out.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Crimsonland is has a rewarding perk system and fun guns to use on a level-to-level basis. People who care about obtaining the best scores will find more value here than most. Still, its repetitious level design and bland presentation make it a duller experience. Why not add structures to the levels such as walls and maybe some vegetation? Broken down 2-story buildings would be nice. Weapons and Perks are the highlights. If only the rest matched up.
Crimsonland offers some good twin-stick shooter fun that you'll really enjoy blasting your way through. It's great and addictive when trying to polish off the levels, but it is a little simplistic - that's ultimately what separates it from the likes of Doom.
Although Crimsonland has tight controls and some neat survival mode variations one can't help but feel disappointed with the overall experience due to its generic presentation, too much emphasis on chance, and monotonous quest mode levels.
Crimsonland isn't a game that's out to change the world — it's a simple shooter that gets the job done and does it well. With the exception of there being no online co-op, I don't have any major complaints about this game. If you're into super violent twin stick shooters then this is a game you should try out.
There are much, much better games, and even much better similar games, on the PS4. Get those unless you really are a major fan of this genre.
Contrary to its looks, Crimsonland still delivers frenetic fights that are impossible to reproduce in web browsers. But bigger and more beautiful twin-stick shooters rose to fame during the game's decade-long slumber, leaving 10tons playing catch-up.
There is a lot of thought that has been put into this game's survival modes, and people will enjoy that side of things. It's just a shame that thought couldn't be put into the rest of the game.
It's the safest, most generic example of the dual stick shooter in years. There's no denying there's a visceral thrill in the action that it offers, but let's just say it's just as well the game's priced to be a cheap bit of throwaway fun.
Crimsonland is a fairly forgettable experience hindered further by unattractive audio and visuals. While you have to admire its retro-style arcade feel and gameplay, sadly it’s not enough to keep you engaged for long. Survival mode has the longest legs but even then it’s not something I found myself wanting to return back to long term.
Based on the 2003 game of the same name, Crimsonland is a fun four-player dual-stick shooter with 60 levels and a nice variety of baddies. Unfortunately, it's also insanely dull. The levels rarely change and the weapon drops can lead to a lot of frustrating deaths. The few good ideas are overshadowed by too many questionable design decisions to count.
In its current state the game should have been a £1.99 PlayStation Mobile title, not a £7.99 PlayStation 4 game. The title is coming to PS Vita this week and will be cross-buy but not cross save, and is certainly more suited to short bursts of gaming on a bus.
Now, this being a twin-stick shooter, Crimsonland's other failings could have been overlooked if the gameplay was fantastic. However, the gameplay is pretty basic as far as this genre goes, and it rarely elevates itself past mediocre.
When Crimsonland released way back on the PC in 2003, little did it know it was going to be ported to PS3, PS4, PS Vita and now Xbox One. 10tons studios created one of the most addicting top-down shooters ever. Thats a bold statement to make in a opening paragraph in a review, but Crimsonland could back it up. The pure enjoyment when playing this game is like no other, but does the addictive gameplay get too repetitive? How does Crimsonland hold up to other modern top-down shooters? Let's find out.